His Call to Make
by Isilarma
Summary: The Council want more 'assets.' Phil Coulson has determined that one Peter Parker could be very useful. It is Nick Fury who will make the final call. Some decisions never get any easier.


**His Call to Make**

**Isilarma**

**So this has been sitting on my hard drive for weeks, so I thought it was about time I posted it. Thank you very much to everyoneover at the Beta Branch; I really appreciate your help.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avengers.**

* * *

Phil Coulson was no stranger to unpleasant missions. He was used to being told to threaten, blackmail, even, on occasion, arrange 'accidents' for those deemed a threat. He could handle that. He could even handle having to send one of his agents to do it. That was harder, true, but still within his capabilities. But that didn't mean he had to like it. Some things still left a rotten taste in his mouth, which was why he now found himself staring at his boss' door and wishing that Stark would cause a nice distraction and give him a good excuse to put this off. Though that would mean actually having to meet the man to sort it out... Phil sighed and knocked twice.

"Come."

Phil straightened his shoulders and pushed open the door. Nick Fury glanced up at him.

"Any problems?"

"No, sir." He handed over a thick file. "Here is my official report."

Fury glanced at it but, to his surprise, set it aside. "Thank you, but first I would like your personal assessment of the candidate."

Phil paused. This was not standard procedure. "Sir?"

Fury's eye gleamed. "Sit down, Coulson."

Phil did as he was told, but his mind was buzzing. True, Fury often asked his advice, but usually only after he had checked the official recommendation. Wanting all the facts to make an informed decision, he said, though in somewhat blunter terms. This was a deviation from the norm.

Phil hated deviations. He blamed Barton.

As was not unusual, Fury seemed to read his mind. "I recognise that this is unusual," he said, "but this is hardly a typical situation."

Phil grimaced. "I quite agree." When he joined S.H.I.E.L.D., he hadn't thought he'd be babysitting bored geniuses or threatening demigods.

The corner of Fury's mouth quirked up a fraction. "I thought you might." His expression darkened. "As you may be aware, the Council is less than enthusiastic as to the current status of the Initiative."

If the shouting matches Phil had witnessed had been any indication, 'less than enthusiastic' was something of an understatement. "I had heard something to that effect, sir."

Fury glowered out the window. "They don't think we're ready," he murmured. Phil shifted in his seat. He wasn't sure he disagreed with that statement. Fury glanced back at him and sighed.

"They want more candidates. Specifically," he tapped the file, "this one. And I need to know if he can cut it."

Phil frowned. "With all due respect sir, a detailed analysis of his capabilities is contained within the report."

"And I will take that into account, but first I want to know if you think he can handle it."

Phil suppressed a sigh. This was exactly what he hadn't wanted to do, but there was an all too familiar glint in Fury's eye. "Very well sir." He thought for a moment. "There is no doubt that his combat skills are more than adequate."

* * *

Phil watched with clinical detachment as the group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents prepared to get to work. Not that you'd think they were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents right now; all eight were dressed in what Hill had assured him were the latest gang fashions, and were taking to their new roles with vigour. Tuning the noise of their antics out, Phil scanned the nearby buildings. Response time would be an important first test.

"This really necessary, Coulson?"

Phil wasn't even surprised any more. "Did you pay any attention to the briefing, Barton?"

"When have I ever not paid attention to your briefings?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

There was a snort of laughter. "Fine, but I still don't see why we need this many agents to test one guy."

"Because he's good," Phil replied. "I want to see how good."

"Well here's your chance. Look up."

Phil raised his eyes just in time to see a red and blue blur hurtle down from the building. "Remember, you're there to observe only."

There was an exaggerated sigh. "Why do you always feel the need to tell me stuff I already know?"

This time, Phil ignored him. He was far more interested in the events occurring across the street.

The agents Phil had picked were some of the best in S.H.I.E.L.D. Each was trained in multiple martial arts disciplines, and each had proven their worth in combat situations around the world. Now, however, they were going down like ninepins. Good as they were, their objective was better.

True, he had certain advantages, but Phil had worked with Agent Romanoff and even he couldn't help but be impressed by the hero's skill. It was more like a dance than an attack; he never stayed in one place long enough to be targeted, and took full advantage of his unnatural agility, using the nearby buildings to attack from every conceivable angle. Already he had taken out five of Phil's men, and showed no signs of slowing down.

There was a low whistle in his earpiece. "Kid's good. Very good."

Phil rolled his eyes. "Thank you for that assessment, Barton."

"Welcome." After a moment, he added, "I think we should have brought more men."

"Are you volunteering?"

"But I was ordered not to get involved. And we know I never go against such orders."

Phil rolled his eyes. "Perish the thought."

"It's my New Year's resolution."

Phil winced as one of his agents was thrown a good few metres through the air. The rest lay sprawled on the ground. The masked figure called something to a stunned bystander before leaping into the air and firing a web. Phil watched him go and nodded.

"Well, let's hope it lasts longer than your last one. In the meantime, let's find out a little more about young Mr. Parker."

* * *

Fury listened in silence as Phil recounted the incident. His eye was half-closed, but Phil knew he caught every word.

"So you think he would be able to hold his own in a combat situation?"

Phil nodded. "I believe so. His style is flexible, and he does have experience in tackling abnormal foes."

Fury leaned forwards. "All well and good, but you still haven't answered my original question. Is he ready?" At Phil's silence, he sighed. "He is an excellent fighter, and if the reports of his intelligence are accurate, he may be able to keep up with Stark someday. He's already experienced, and he's proven he'll do whatever it takes to save lives. By rights, I should be adding his name to the list right now."

Phil took a deep breath. "All due respect sir, but I disagree."

"And why is that?"

Phil allowed himself a twitch at that tone, but he wasn't about to back down now. "He's not ready. Not yet at any rate."

Fury's eye glinted. "Explain."

Phil was about to launch into his carefully prepared argument, when something in his boss' face made him pause. Fury might seem inscrutable, but after working with someone for this long, you got to recognise certain moods. Anger was definitely one of them. But what he was seeing now wasn't anger. If anything, it was... relief? Whatever it was, it was enough to give him hope.

"Sir, he's seventeen."

"Many agents start younger," Fury replied. "Take Romanoff, for example."

Phil repressed the urge to point out how well that had gone. "This is different. They received training of sorts, Parker has not."

"He's saved New York half a dozen times and without our help."

"From isolated threats, yes, but a war? An invasion?" He shook his head. "He's always worked alone. Could he mesh with a team, could he fight with them effectively? If he did, could he watch them fall and still keep fighting?" His eyes dropped to the photo on the front of the file. "Could he kill?"

Fury's expression darkened. "I think he could do whatever had to be done." His voice fell as he too studied the teenager. "If we asked him to."

Phil closed his eyes. He didn't ask if they would do it. They had before, and if necessary they would do it again. The thought made him feel sick to his stomach, and he knew he was not the only one. Barton, Romanoff, and others, so many others, had been sent out because there was no other choice.

They sent them to do whatever had to be done, no matter the cost. It never got any easier. Looking down at Parker's smiling face Phil knew he didn't want to do it again. But, in the end, the decision wasn't his to make.

Fury still hadn't moved, or given any outward sign that the decision was troubling, but Phil had known him to long to be taken in by that. Every day Phil held the lives of his agents in his hands, but Fury... at the end of the day, Fury was responsible for every single man and woman in their organisation. Many resented him for it; 'heartless bastard' was one of the kinder epithets Phil had heard. And it was true. Fury would send any of them into a hopeless situation if he thought it would help, and if it didn't work, he would try again. But he would also be the one who lived with the consequences. All of them. Including that of asking a teenager to defend the world.

"Coulson."

Fury's tone brought him back to attention immediately. "Sir?"

Fury held his gaze for a moment. "Please him on the reserve list, to be reassessed in two years' time. In the meantime, he's to be left alone unless there is no other alternative."

Relief flooded his body. Two years. It wasn't much of a childhood, but it was better than nothing. "Shall I contact the Council?"

Fury glanced at the file on the desk. "Not just yet. It can wait a while."

Phil nodded. "How long, sir?"

Fury turned back to him. "Two years sounds about right, don't you think?"

For a split-second, Phil could only stare at him. Attempting to deceive the Council rarely ended well. But some things were worth the risk. "It would hardly be appropriate to make a final recommendation based on an initial assessment, sir." And if the reassessment happened to be delayed a little, well...

In anyone else, the gleam in Fury's eye might have been considered amusement. "Indeed. Dismissed, Agent."

Phil nodded and got to his feet. At the door though, he paused and looked back. "Sir, was Parker ever going to be considered for the Initiative at this stage?"

Fury's expression didn't so much as flicker. "Dismissed."

"Yes, sir."

For the first time in weeks, Phil found himself feeling lighter as he left that office. He knew it wouldn't last, that tomorrow he might have to sign some very different orders. But Peter Parker's name would not be on them. For now, that was enough.


End file.
